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Handy hints for Match Reports Why are Match Reports important? They create an historical record for the players, team and club. They give parents, administrators, supporters and interested persons a different insight to the game. They help players and create the chance to give positive feedback, even when the team has lost. They enhance player self esteem, even if a team has lost it doesn’t always mean they didn’t play well. Players can use them as references. Players from your own team and others (even the opposition!) can be motivated by them. Players from your own and other teams can learn from them. They make good reading and can be very entertaining. Who should write the Match Report? The first answer that comes to mind is the coach. While this may seem obvious, the coach is usually flat out…coaching! Suggestions are the manager, player parent or an enthusiastic team supporter. Best to work this out at the beginning of the season so it becomes a regular task. Writing a match Report Writing a match report isn't difficult, writing a good one is certainly a skill but most people simply want to know what happened. You'll need to take notes, some people use a pad and paper, but you can use whatever works for you. You will need some sort of timeline of events, if only to jog your memory when writing the final draft. Try using a type of shorthand to prevent having to write an essay at the game, this is something that will get better with practice. Once you've got the notes done, talk with other people. This will give different viewpoints to events that you may or may not have seen. It also gives you the chance to see if others agree with your view of the game. Once you have done this you may want to adjust your notes to include the new information. The final stage is to pull the notes together as an article. A lot of people think you need some incredible expertise in the game to do this, not true. If you have any skill in this area by all means include it but it is not a prerequisite. What we're after is a supporter's view of the game, there will be plenty of "expert" opinions in out there for people who want that. Points to remember If you look at some of the match reports you'll get to see what these things are, knowing what is required may help you structure your report. Each report needs a short headline. This could be "Lions 1 - 0 Other Team”, or similar but if you want to provide one that's great but keep it short, 11 words max. Talk about the match in a calm way but enthusiastic way. Avoid negative words or phrases about yours or the opposition team. Try to phrase negative aspects in a postitive way, hard…yes but it can be done. You don't have to use long words or fancy language. Talk about the other team and how they played. Talk about your team, how well they did, how well they tried and their tactics. Talk about what you thought made your team or the opposing team win. You need to include a Person Of The Match. Highlight that the other members of the team did really well but the Person Of The Match pushed themselves just that bit further. Include the scores for each half and then the overall score if you can. Round it off with how much everyone enjoyed the match or not if they didn't. Remember, this is only a guide to help you and is not set in concrete. It is up to you what you say and how you set it out but as long as you have these things you will have a fantastically written match report. We are always happy to publish Match Reports from any grade in any shape or form…we can edit them! If you have any feedback or suggestions on how this page can be improved, please contact: internet@coffscityunitedfc.org.au Coffs City United FC